Government expenditure on secondary education as % of GDP in Zambia

Zambia: Government expenditure on secondary education as % of GDP was 0.9% in 2017. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2017)
0.9%
Change on year
up 17.7%
World rank
115th
of 152 countries
All-time high
2.1%
in 1973
All-time low
0.3%
in 2005
Years of data
29
1970–2017

Government expenditure on secondary education as % of GDP in Zambia, 1970–2017

0.511.521970199320171970: 1.6 %1971: 2 %1972: 2.1 %1973: 2.1 %1974: 1.9 %1975: 2.1 %1976: 1.9 %1977: 1.7 %1978: 1.3 %1979: 1.2 %1980: 1.1 %1981: 1.7 %1982: 1.7 %1983: 2.1 %1984: 1.9 %1985: 1.2 %1986: 1 %1987: 0.765 %1991: 0.506 %1992: 0.402 %1993: 0.293 %1994: 0.317 %1995: 0.338 %2000: 0.461 %2004: 0.328 %2005: 0.251 %2015: 1.2 %2016: 0.739 %2017: 0.87 %

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.

Analysis

In 2017, government expenditure on secondary education as % of gdp in Zambia stood at 0.9%.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 17.7% on the previous year and up 246.0% over ten years.

Over the whole period, government expenditure on secondary education as % of gdp in Zambia peaked at 2.1% in 1973 and was at its lowest, 0.3%, in 2005.

Zambia ranks 115th of 152 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.

The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.

Government expenditure on secondary education as % of GDP in Zambia, year by year

Annual values for Government expenditure on secondary education as % of GDP (%) in Zambia, 1970 to 2017.
Year % Change
1970 1.6%
1971 2.0% +25.1%
1972 2.1% +5.0%
1973 2.1% +0.2%
1974 1.9% -13.1%
1975 2.1% +12.0%
1976 1.9% -9.2%
1977 1.7% -10.8%
1978 1.3% -25.1%
1979 1.2% -5.9%
1980 1.1% -11.4%
1981 1.7% +61.7%
1982 1.7% +2.1%
1983 2.1% +18.9%
1984 1.9% -7.3%
1985 1.2% -37.4%
1986 1.0% -14.2%
1987 0.8% -25.8%
1991 0.5% -33.9%
1992 0.4% -20.7%
1993 0.3% -27.0%
1994 0.3% +8.0%
1995 0.3% +6.9%
2000 0.5% +36.3%
2004 0.3% -28.9%
2005 0.3% -23.3%
2015 1.2% +357.9%
2016 0.7% -35.8%
2017 0.9% +17.7%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1970s 1.8% 1.2% 2.1% 10
1980s 1.4% 0.8% 2.1% 8
1990s 0.4% 0.3% 0.5% 5
2000s 0.3% 0.3% 0.5% 3
2010s 0.9% 0.7% 1.2% 3

Countries ranked near Zambia

  1. 112 Burkina Faso 1.0% compare
  2. 113 British Virgin Islands 0.9% compare
  3. 114 Afghanistan 0.9% compare
  4. 116 Maldives 0.9% compare
  5. 117 Ethiopia 0.9% compare
  6. 118 Cambodia 0.8% compare

See the full ranking of 152 places →

More reference data data for Zambia

All data for Zambia →

Frequently asked questions

What is government expenditure on secondary education as % of gdp in Zambia?
Government expenditure on secondary education as % of gdp in Zambia was 0.9% in 2017, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
What is the highest government expenditure on secondary education as % of gdp recorded in Zambia?
The highest recorded value was 2.1% in 1973.
What is the lowest government expenditure on secondary education as % of gdp recorded in Zambia?
The lowest recorded value was 0.3% in 2005.
How does Zambia rank for government expenditure on secondary education as % of gdp?
Zambia ranks 115th out of 152 countries with data for 2017.
Is government expenditure on secondary education as % of gdp rising or falling in Zambia?
Over the last ten years it is up 246.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this Zambia data come from?
The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Government expenditure on secondary education as % of GDP (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 29 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Government expenditure on secondary education as % of GDP in Zambia. Statizoid, drawing on UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Retrieved 04 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/government-expenditure-on-secondary-education-as-percent-of-gdp-percent/zambia/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/government-expenditure-on-secondary-education-as-percent-of-gdp-percent/zambia/">Government expenditure on secondary education as % of GDP in Zambia</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Government expenditure on secondary education as % of GDP (%)
Unit
%
Source
UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
152 places, 2,921 data points, 1970–2019
Last refreshed

Total general (local, regional and central) government expenditure on secondary education (current, capital, and transfers), expressed as a percentage of GDP. It includes expenditure funded by transfers from international sources to government. Divide total government expenditure for a given level of education (ex. primary, secondary, or all levels combined) by the GDP, and multiply by 100. A higher percentage of GDP spent on education shows a higher government priority for education, but also a higher capacity of the government to raise revenues for public spending, in relation to the size of the country's economy. When interpreting this indicator however, one should keep in mind in some countries, the private sector and/or households may fund a higher proportion of total funding for education, thus making government expenditure appear lower than in other countries. Limitations: In some instances data on total public expenditure on education refers only to the Ministry of Education, excluding other ministries which may also spend a part of their budget on educational activities. For more information, consult the UNESCO Institute of Statistics website: http://www.uis.unesco.org/Education/